Influence of age, circadian and homeostatic processes on inhibitory motor control: A Go/Nogo task study
PLoS ONE. 2012-06-25; 7(6): e39410
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039410
Read on PubMed
1. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e39410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039410. Epub 2012 Jun 25.
Influence of age, circadian and homeostatic processes on inhibitory motor
control: a Go/Nogo task study.
Sagaspe P(1), Taillard J, Amiéva H, Beck A, Rascol O, Dartigues JF, Capelli A,
Philip P.
Author information:
(1)CNRS USR 3413 SANPSY, Sleep, Attention and NeuroPSYchiatrie, Université de
Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
INTRODUCTION: The contribution of circadian system and sleep pressure influences
on executive performance as a function of age has never been studied. The aim of
our study was to determine the age-related evolution of inhibitory motor control
(i.e., ability to suppress a prepotent motor response) and sustained attention
under controlled high or low sleep pressure conditions.
METHODS: 14 healthy young males (mean age = 23 ± 2.7; 20-29 years) and 11 healthy
older males (mean age = 68 ± 1.4; 66-70 years) were recruited. The volunteers
were placed for 40 hours in “constant routine”. In the “Sleep Deprivation SD”
condition, the volunteer was kept awake for 40 hours to obtain a high sleep
pressure condition interacting with the circadian process. In the “NAP”
condition, the volunteer adopted a short wake/sleep cycle (150/75 min) resulting
in a low sleep pressure condition to counteract the homeostatic pressure and
investigate the circadian process. Performances were evaluated by a simple
reaction time task and a Go/Nogo task repeated every 3H45.
RESULTS: In the SD condition, inhibitory motor control (i.e., ability to inhibit
an inappropriate response) was impaired by extended wakefulness equally in both
age groups (P